Water sking beats wake boarding

[Rich]

[Laz]

I see a trend!!

[XR6Hurricane]

I never have and never will have any use for wakeboarding. I was on one once...got up on the first try and hated it. The only thing I despise more than wakeboarding is the culture that it attracts, with the baggy hoodlum shorts and eyebrow rings. $90,000 for a 20' boat that can only do one thing, now that's brilliant. And the mandatory speakers on the tower pumping the rap music so the lake/river becomes the ghetto. Purposely making huge wakes that are a hazard to other boats, gotta love it. All funded by daddy's credit line.

 

Yes I said that out loud. Slalom skiing forever.

 

[allycat]

i like to have a wakeboard ride at the end of the day when i am to tired to ski .even have a wakeboard tower on the old boat and also a biscet ride with the kids is fun but have to agree skiing is the best.

 

[DanE]

@MattP -please Tell us that dislike was a slip on a mobile device

[MattP]

@DanE Yes I am on a mobile device and no it was not a slip. I don't agree with that statement posted.

[FrankS]

While i agree that skiing is superior to wakeboarding, i don't think it is right to completely diss the people that enjoy that sport. In reality, their sport is pretty similar to ours. We both ride on top of the water while being pulled by a boat. I also don't think it is good to generalize wakeboarders as kids with baggy "hoodlum" shorts and eyebrow rings that use the fancy boat that daddy bought them. I know plenty of wakeboarders that are very nice people . Also, do you really think that all young skiers pay for their own boats and equipment? Sorry for the rant, just my opinion.

thanks,

Frank

 

[bogboy]

A couple years ago at a city council meeting a lake resident was complaining about another lake residents type of aircraft which he sometimes kept and used on the lake.(IMO, always safe and responcible). I got up and said that we have to be careful to not pit neighbor against neighbor here. There is plenty of room for ski boats, wakeboard boats, fishing boats, jet skis, sail boats, row boats, sea planes, and ( this type of aircraft). And the moment that some people criticise, another persons chosen method of enjoyment, than your chosen enjoyment will next be at risk, and then we will all be at risk of over regulation. Almost everyone agreed, and we haven't heard about this particular issue lately. (although other environmental entity powers are frightening).

[BraceMaker]

Wakeboarders are friendly enough. They just lack boat driving skills on average. This is far more noticable than a rude bass boat due to the displacement wake from the big ballasted boats.

 

I try to contain myself to a small zone of lake. And I try to avoid entering other people's.zones. but we do ski shallower and we do have a noisy older boat.

 

[XR6Hurricane]

I agree with you completely bogboy and as strong as I feel about wakeboard boats, I am not in favor of regulation or anything like that. We dealt with that type of thing here a few years ago when they were proposing a speed limit just because of a couple of bad eggs. If people don't participate in or like something, right away they want to take away others' rights to do it, and I totally disagree with that.

 

Back to the original post, I love it, great to see the excitement on her face. Does she have an older sister?? ;)

 

 

[Spesh]

I've got nothing against wakeboarders or wakeboarding, seeing as neither affect me in any way. I'm just personally not remotely interested in it.

[Brady]

@XR6Hurricane, just an fyi, most of us on this site are old farts and we have kids.....er.....hoodlums that have piercings and tattoos and pants that are 10 sizes too large. BUT, just so you know, most of those kids I know are pretty damn nice kids. I remember rebelling against my parents, listening to Led Zeppelin and Rush far too loudly. My parents couldn't get me to cut my mullet to save their lives (@Horton still is in this phase), and beer.....well, I will just leave that one alone! We also cut the sides of our Levi's up the hem cause we were cool as hell! BUT, I think most of us were pretty good kids and now are tax-paying adults. So, please be careful to judge the younger generation too harshly, because for the most part, they are trying to get through life the best they know how. And, for most of them Wakeboarding is all they know. I commend them for being on the water, enjoying what it has to offer, and I have had very few negative experiences with wake boarders, and with the youth of today---they are pretty "groovy" and "far out man"

 

Jet Skiers are an entirely other subject however!!! :)

[GaryWilkinson]

While I'm not a fan of the sport, specifically because if the lack of attention some of their boat drivers have for their path and wakes, it is wake boarders and surfers that have funded most of the boat development in the past 10 years.

 

If we had to rely of the slalom boat revenue to fund our sport we'd be in much worse shape.

 

Wake boarding is a tremendous sport for young men and women getting out on the water in a sport and very social setting. 8 sometimes 10 in a boat taking turns on the water instead of in front of a screen of some sort is a great alternative. So, at our lake, we give them a wide berth, talk to them politely when they cut across the slalom course and yes, invite them to try our terrific sport some time so they can relate to how their wakes rolling in from half a mile away can be frustrating.

[rotb35]

I dont like the wakeboarding dress style, or any boarding style either, them sideways, flat billed cap wearing mofos with the baggy shorts. Just me. Heck a lot of skiers wear their hats like that, and it bugs me. Is it generational warfare? yes. I'll admit it.

 

but come on dude, the wakes a of a wakeboard boat are a hazard to other boats? Get out of here. Even the X-star couldnt tip a boat.

[andjules]

And let's remember that it's not fair for hardcore skiers to criticize recreational wakeboard drivers. Hardcore wakeboarders tend to drive almost as rationally & rigorously as hardcore skiers (except for thise wide 'double up' loops). Weekend skiers tend to drive just as badly as weekend wakeboarders (albeit with somewhat smaller wakes).

[Waternut]

I've been afraid to look at this post for the last few days but the video's response was pretty similar to the people I've pulled up on slalom. In my experience, girls have been much more open to trying skiing. Everyone typically goes twice on my boat when we go out. I'll usually ski once and surf or wakeboard second. Once girls learn to slalom, they always make a run on the slalom ski when we go out and sometimes skip wakeboarding or surfing all together. Guys seem to be more afraid of the speed and girls seem to be afraid but exhilarated. It's really cool to watch the transition in people.

 

You'll never hear me complain about wakersurfers or wakeboarders. I'd rather have a boat full of skiers than a boat full of wakeboarders but as long as someone can pull me and they don't want to F-ing tube in circles, they are welcome on my boat...

 

BTW wakesurfing is a fantastic low impact sport for when you are tired but still want to stay on the lake with your friends.

[FrankS]

I live on a public lake and trust me, there are more than a handfull of drivers out there who are inexperienced and unsafe. These drivers include both wakeboarders and skiiers alike. It is VERY anoying when you go out for a nice calm slalom run and a big wakeboard boat comes ann messes up the whole lake, but I guess they have the same rights to use the lake as we do. I think we need to stop worring about wakeboarders, jet skiiers are the real problem.

[Skoot1123]

I would much rather have wakeboarder's on the water than have them doing "other" things that are not nearly as productive - in fact destructive. Anything to get the kids out and about and on the water. At least if they are on the water there is a chance we can get them to switch to slalom skiing!!

[BraceMaker]

@jfw432 - I love the wakesurfers on a whole, most are out in the center of the lake so they can maintain a huge slow circle in deep water.

 

The guy up the lake with the Mastercraft X80 however who whips the boat around after the 4 year old slides off the wakes and crashes on combo skis.... He can pound sand.

[scuppers]

I hit the like and dislike buttons by mistake. I guess I havent figured it out just yet. Regarding the actual topic - All of us slalom skiers at some point are gonna be bothered by anything churning up the lake. Jet skies were always way worse than wake boarders.

[jimbrake]

@Brady - you should so bring back the mullet. Combine it with a sweet fu manchu and post a pic, please.

 

I far prefer skiing to wakeboarding and I far, far, faaaaaar prefer snow skiing to snowboarding (do not even get me started), but I have to put myself in the place of a teenage kid today, especially one without a mom and dad to introduce them to skiing, and I too might have gone with wakeboarding just because of the social (girl) aspect.

[Phil2360]

Isn't a Skippers responsability to minimise his wake?

 

"Vessel operators are responsible for damage caused by their wake. Slow down and minimize disturbance or damage to other vessels, docks, floating homes and shoreline installations. "

 

Doens't gel with me when the fill everything possible with ballast, load the boat to the hilt & then cruise past the shores looking for an additional audiences.

 

Very inconciderate!

 

Interesting to see how much "Air" the average trick skier gets behind a ski boat anyway.

[Waternut]

@bracemaker You make a good point there. Tubers doing circles and even a ski boat doing power turns is pretty much the worst thing for the water. I'll take jetskiers and wakeboarders any day over that crap. I don't understand what it is about power turns but some people just don't get it.

 

I've burned probably 300 gallons of gas in my boat in the last year with one person in particular. I always idle back to people, I've told them not to do power turns at least 20 times, asked politely before getting in the water for them not to do a power turn, been in the boat while they drive and told them to stop giving it gas and idle back, and after all of that....their first instinct when someone falls is to slam the throttle all the way down and then start the turn. I've given up and just politely ask someone else to drive before this person can volunteer.

[XR6Hurricane]

@Phil2360 - I've always wondered the same thing. There are laws on the books prohibiting damage caused by wakes, and yet the builders are actually marketing boats that purposely create ridiculous wakes. I don't get it. Especially since the really good wakeboarders don't need all that huge of a wake to do fantastic tricks.

 

@jfw432 - Interesting observations. The guys are afraid of waterskiing speed but the girls aren't?? That's hilarious.

 

The jet skis...yeah, but there the problem is definitely the operator and not the machine. I give them all a wide berth. Lots of landlubbers borrowing them for joy rides. I'd bet that very, very few of them realize either that their right of way is at the bottom of the food chain because of their small size and ability to turn on a dime.